1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to safety harnesses, specifically to an improved multi-purpose device for a child.
2. Description of Prior Art
Many child safety harnesses or retaining devices have previously been invented to protect a child from physical injury. These prior art harnesses were designed to provide protection in the form of restraint from the hazards of a particular activity. These prior art harnesses are of limited use and cannot be used to effectively restrain a child from the hazards of additional activities. Acquiring multiple safety harnesses or restraint devices to provide for the child's protection during various activities is both expensive and cumbersome.
The prior art is abundant with harnesses designed for the restraining of a child to a chair. Representatives of the prior art are the harnesses disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. to Peck (U.S. Pat. No. 1,205,384) White (U.S. Pat. No. 2,451,007), Doering (U.S. Pat. No. 3,604,750), McCracken et al (U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,692), Jordan (U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,373), Rosenberg (U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,474), Harlick et al (U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,554), Schrader et al (U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,523), and Leach (U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,109). All of these patents involved a diaper-like restraint harness with straps for attaching to a chair. Some harnesses also provided aesthetic shoulder straps. However, none of these harnesses can be easily adapted for other applications.
Other prior art involves carriers for transporting a child. The carriers can be attached to either the front or the back of an adult. Representatives of the prior art are the carriers disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. to Hansson (U.S. Pat. No. 3,780,919), Grenier (U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,562), Sharp (U.S. Pat. No. 4,009,808), Almosnino et al (U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,764), Nunemacher (U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,687), Arnold (U.S. Pat. No. 4,234,229), Ruggiano (U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,998), and Elf (U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,514) which also disclosed a secondary use to support a child on a chair. All of these patents are diaper-like devices that are made with only cloth or with cloth and a rigid frame. Some have straps retaining the shoulders of the child for extra protection. Additionally, these devices share similarity in design for they all mount either on an adult's back, on an adult's chest, or to the back of a chair. Adaptation of these designs to other applications is similarly limited.
The prior art for a swing safety harness is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,780 to Barnes. This harness consists of a long panel of material, which extends from the chest area, travels under the child's crotch and up to the shoulder blade area. Unlike the instant invention, the child is placed on the swing seat before the harness is applied. Here, the intermediate section of the cloth panel is lifted to meet the bottom of the swing seat. The panel is thereafter secured to the seat by an attached elastic strap fastened over the seat. The child is then placed in a sitting position onto the swing seat over the fastener. The front and rear portions of the panel are upwardly brought to the chest and back of the child. Tie members at each of the ends of the panel are tied underneath the armpits of the child and to each of the two chains supporting the swing seat. The Barnes device is limited to swing seat applications, requires the attachment to the seat before the child is seated, is not meant to be wearable on the child's person, and the child must sit on the strap fastener which might not be comfortable. Furthermore, Barnes lacks shoulder straps to prevent the child from being ejected out the top of the restraint device in the event that the child is flipped either during swinging or stationary activity. Moreover, with Barnes, and unlike the instant invention, the child can escape out the sides of the panel or through the top of the device, as there is no containment at those locations. Wearability is also limited in that there is nothing preventing the Barnes device from slipping downward off the child.
The prior art is devoid of a harness or device specifically designed for multiple purposes and activities and thereby causes parents to acquire multiple safety harnesses and incur high expense in doing so. There is a pressing need, left unfulfilled by the prior art, for a multipurpose safety harness that will serve this purpose.